(1) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a bag for packaging biological liquid substance, such as animal semen.
It also relates to a strip formed by juxtaposing such bags.
(2) Related Art
Up to now, a number of types of packaging have been proposed for storing animal semen, especially that of porcine species.
Accordingly, there are tubes of supple plastic material which, once filled with semen and sealed, form what resembles a large tube of toothpaste. They comprise a distributor head which is connected to the body of the tube by a zone having a circular cross-section and large diameter.
This type of packaging has essentially two drawbacks. The first resides in the fact that it has a significant thickness due to the circular cross-section zone. The second drawback is due to the fact that the nozzle is closed during periods when it is not in use in such a fashion that it is necessary to cut it in order to be able to gain access to the semen and proceed with artificial insemination. This requires that the person carrying out the insemination operation have a cutting tool such as a pair of scissors. Now, the current trend is to work as quickly as possible and with a minimum of objects other than the bag and a wand, in order to limit the risks of loss of said objects and incidents that they could cause.
Relatively flat packaging bags are also known that are formed by joining two sheets of plastic material. A piece made of plastic material is applied to these bags which comprises a dispensing nozzle. These bags occupy less space than the aforesaid tubes but they nevertheless require an additional tool for opening the nozzle.
The existence of these problems makes clear that a generally accepted packaging of a bag is formed exclusively of two walls of joined plastic material so as to delimit a pouch for receiving said substance and, communicating with said pouch, an outlet conduit whose terminal part is, in the absence of opening the bag, closed off by said joined walls.
A slit arranged in the vicinity of the conduit, a peelable zone or a supplementary means makes it possible to open the outlet conduit without requiring the use of an additional tool.
And in view of artificial insemination, a wand is attached, said wand being comprised of a tube having at its end a solid foam plug or spiral.
A first possibility consists of connecting the wand directly to the bag by introducing into the conduit the end of the tube opposite to end having the plug.
This requires a certain dexterity insofar as the filled bag of semen is not rigid; it is soft and difficult to manipulate.
Furthermore, there is a plurality of wands with different external tube diameters. Therefore, it is necessary to provide different bags with conduit dimensions adapted to the wands with the risk of having the semen flow between the conduit and the wand.
However, when looking for conduit dimensions that match perfectly to those of the wand, there is the risk of piercing the bag at the time of introducing the wand, the end of which often has a sharp edge.
Furthermore, when the inseminated animals have freedom of movement, there is considerable risk that the bag may become disconnected.
A second possibility comprises connecting a coupling tube (called a coupler) to the conduit, then connecting the second end of the coupler to the wand.
This coupler comprises an additional part that the person performing the insemination should have within his reach and that is also apt to be mislaid.
Such a part is principally single-use, but it has been found that the same coupler could be used in several successive inseminations. Now, it has been frequently observed that semen migrates to inside the coupler or the bag during an insemination procedure. If the sow has a vaginal or uterine infection, the traces of semen left in the tube can contaminate the semen contained in the bag used for later insemination. This is unacceptable from the hygiene point of view.
GB-A-2 003 449 discloses a bag, in particular for storing blood platelets. In its different embodiments described, said bag comprises a pouch communicating with the exterior by means of projecting tubing. In the unopened condition each tube is arranged inside of a closed compartment and is thus isolated from the external environment. The closure means of the compartment comprise a peelable peripheral weld which is disposed at a distance from the tube. For connecting the tube to a filling or emptying means the two sheets comprising the compartment are separated in order to break the peelable seal. The tube is then completely accessible such that its entire length is exposed to contaminants. In addition, the connection of a tube or tubing to such a tube is rather inconvenient. In fact, it is held in the bag only at one of its ends such that the tubing/bag has no real hold and rigidity, which complicates its connection to a tube or to tubing.